Obama reaches out to Senate Republicans

2/19/13 5:13 PM EST

President Obama on Tuesday called Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham, John McCain and Marco Rubio "to discuss their shared commitment to bipartisan, commonsense immigration reform and to commend the Senators for the bipartisan progress that continues to be made by the Gang of 8 on this important issue," the White House said in a statement.

"During the calls, which build on conversations that have taken place at the staff level, the president reiterated that he remains supportive of the effort underway in Congress, and that he hopes that they can produce a bill as soon as possible that reflects shared core principles on reform," the statement said. "The president has made clear that he believes commonsense reform needs to include strengthening border security, creating an earned path to citizenship, holding employers accountable, and streamlining legal immigration.

"As the president made clear when he met with Democratic Senators involved in the process last week, that while he is pleased with the progress and supportive of the effort to date, he is prepared to submit his own legislation if Congress fails to act. He thanked the Senators for their leadership, and made clear that he and his staff look forward to continuing to work together with their teams to achieve needed reform."

White House press secretary Jay Carney was questioned repeatedly during a briefing earlier in the day about whether the president had personally contacted GOP lawmakers, and if not, why not. Reporters asked specifically about Rubio*, a question Carney dodged:

Q You said that you’ve talked to the members of -- the Republicans on immigration. Senator Rubio’s office just put something out saying, “Senator Rubio’s office has never discussed immigration policy with anyone in the White House.” Who’s telling the truth?

MR. CARNEY: We have been in contact with everybody involved in this effort on Capitol Hill.

Q So they’re not telling the truth?

MR. CARNEY: You’re reading to me from a BlackBerry. I can tell you what I know about the White House’s efforts. Actually it’s an iPhone.

Q It’s an iPhone.

MR. CARNEY: Is that a 5? (Laughter.)

Q It’s a 4S. On the question of the sequester, has the President had a single face-to-face meeting with Republican leaders since January 1st about averting these spending cuts?

MR. CARNEY: I don’t have any meetings to read out to you.

*UPDATE: Rubio spokesman Alex Conant emails this statement: "Senator Rubio appreciated receiving President Obama's phone call to discuss immigration reform late tonight in Jerusalem. The Senator told the President that he feels good about the ongoing negotiations in the Senate, and is hopeful the final product is something that can pass the Senate with strong bipartisan support.”